The Black Beasts
by darkabys
Summary: The xiaolin sense a new evil the young monks are sent to investigate they find is a not what anyone was expecting and that this 'new evil' isn't as new as they first thought it was third chapter and first fight is now up now we can get the ball rolling
1. Prologue

Okay so this story is a more to the tune of the series though with a lot more graphic fight scenes I would like some constructive criticism here so please review so that I know where I can improve.

The Black Beasts Prologue

A young Latino about 13 years old looked out at the city he loved as the sun set the ocean appeared to burn but it wasn't the ocean it was the once beautiful city he loved. The boy stared out at the city from his seat on the head of the 30 meter tall statue of Jesus Christ in his language the statue was called Christo Redentor and it was his favorite place to go to think. As he stared out at the city he found himself thinking many different things he thought of his family of his friends of his class mates and teachers but more than any of them he thought about his girlfriend. _Is this all my fault?_ He asked himself as he thought back to the previous nights when he spent hours on end planning to avoid something like this. He looked down at his gloves, they looked to be made from ordinary leather and at one point probably had been but now they were anything but ordinary. His gloves were imbued with magic that was several thousand years old this magic allowed them to sprout five blades each one was a foot long they were called the panthers claw and only he could use them. He felt the leather strap around his throat tighten but knew it was his imagination because it to was enchanted and only responded to him. On command the leather strap would turn into a helmet that looked like a panthers head. He jumped down from his place on the statue and let himself fall. When he was five feet from the ground he placed his feet on the statue and kicked off shedding his downward momentum to avoid breaking his legs. He walked to an area of town where the fire had already been extinguished took off his gloves and collar. He placed them in a plain wooden box along with leather straps made to fit over his shoes he then placed the box on the ground and began to channel his chi into his hand. The box appeared to slid into the ground but really the ground was and illusion created through magic. He rose to his feet and left the area as he was on his way out of the city he heard a voice that was quiet as a ghost yet spoke with the authority of a god. "I have a lot of respect for you so you will be spared this time boy but if you ever return to this or any other city that we control I will not hesitate to have you killed." The boy said nothing but kept on walking. "Do you understand?" Knowing he was being watched all he did was nod the voice disappeared and the boy say something blood red flash several meters away in the sky.

He arrived at the place where he was set to meet his family they were already there "are you ready to go?" his father asked.

"Yes dad I'm ready" the boy said. He turned and took one last look at his former home and his forest green eyes darkened to an emerald color engraving the scene of the city in his memory permanently.


	2. Chapter One: A new Evil

Okay so first I want to thank meme12345bunny for the review and second this story will start off slow this chapter will pretty much just be conversations and an incredibly long speech by Rai. But don't worry in a couple of chapter there will be plenty of guns, bullets, blood, mayhem, and death over all yes for those of you who are still wondering this is going to turn into a blood bath. Now I encourage all of you to read this as this will be important later and I don't want reviews asking me to explain just read this and if you have any questions then let me know and I will try and fit the answers into the next chapter which again will mostly be conversations. Oh and I forgot to mention this but there will be some Raikim but mostly it will be RaixOC with that out of the way here's the next chapter.

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Chapter One: A new Evil

Raimundo was on top the roof of the meditation hall laying on his back thinking about how some stars were shining brighter than usual and that normally he would think it beautiful but when he stared up at the stars he felt fear. It wasn't his own fear but the fear of the things around him everything seemed to be afraid these days the rabbits, the birds even the bees seemed to be hiding. _Won't be long before the end of the world_ Rai thought _again_. It seemed that every few months the world was coming to an end all Rai wanted to do was to live a normal life but his life had never been normal so why should he expect it now?

Rai watched as the sky behind him began to brighten slowly. Raimundo began to think about his life in Rio and how much he wanted to return but knew he would be unable to. His past was a secret to the others and not even the seemingly all knowing Master Fung could say he knew all of the skeletons in Rais closet. An image began to form in his mind of Rio in a sea of flames he shook his head to clear it. He heard the sounds of movement in the temple. Raimundo continued to stare up at the sky _my days of secrecy are almost up along with my running_.

He remained on the roof for several more minutes until he heard Omis voice "has anyone seen Raimundo?"

"I reckon he's still asleep" Clay said "who should wake him up today?"

The answer was almost immediate "I will" Kim said.

Rai remained on his back and called "there's no need" making the others look around.

Omi took a fighting stance and said "I will not be caught off guard by another of your practical jokeries" Omi was referring to a few weeks earlier when Raimundo had tried to use the shroud of shadows to convince Omi the temple was haunted. It would have worked to if not for Kimiko pulling the shroud off.

Rai smiled at the memory then said "first jokeries isn't a real word second just because you can't see me" he jumped off the roof and landed just behind them "doesn't mean I'm invisible."

"What were you doing up there Rai?" Kim asked.

"Thinking" he said.

Kim smiled and said playfully "don't you need a brain for that?"

"I got more brains than you know" Rai said smiling back though it seemed off to Kim. "Come on let's go get breakfast before Dojo eats all the food" Rai said taking off running.

When the monks arrived at the dining hall they were surprised to see that Dojo wasn't there but otherwise it was a normal morning they ate in silence (aside from the sound of Clay eating). When they were done they went headed out to the training field for morning training but met Dojo on the way there.

The green dragon was about a foot long at the moment but could grow to about 40 feet when necessary "hey guys Master Fung wants to see you, he's waiting in the meditation hall."

Rai sighed "let me guess end of the world time?" He asked.

Dojo just shrugged and said "I don't know he just said that he felt an imbalance."

"He sounds like a Jedi" Rai said with his usual 'cant you talk normally?' expression causing Kim to smile. "I bet you five bucks it he's going to tell us the world is going to end" he said looking at the others as they started towards the meditation hall.

The others thought about it and Clay said "I ain't taking that bet partner" Kim nodded in agreement with Clay.

Omi on the other hand just looked confused "why would you want to bet male deer?" He asked.

Rai smacked himself in the face while the others rolled their eyes "it's just an expression Omi."

The group arrived at the meditation hall to see Master Fung sitting in a meditative position on the opposite side of the room he motioned for them to take a seat and once they were seated began speaking. "Young monks for some time now there has been a steadily growing amount of evil in the world this has created an imbalance between good and evil and try as we might we have been so far unable to identify the person or people responsible. Early this morning the decision was reached to send you to investigate."

Rai scratched the back of his head "umm not to poke holes but if you don't know who or where the disturbance in the force is coming from then how can we investigate?" He asked.

Master Fung raised an eye brow at Raimundo and said "we do not know who is causing the imbalance we do however know that the source is Rio de Janeiro."

Rais face paled at the name "that's great isn't it Rai? We can finally see your home town" Kim said.

"Y-yeah" Rai stuttered.

"Something wrong partner?" Clay asked.

"Yeah I just didn't think we would be going to be fighting some potentially great evil in my home town that's all" Rai said trying to cover up his reaction.

"Will we finally get to meet your parents?" Omi asked.

Rai scratched his head "I doubt it, don't forget they run a traveling circus so they could be anywhere." The truth is his family hadn't been back to Rio since the incident several years ago when their house along with a large portion of the city had been set on fire.

Master Fung rose and said "I suggest you prepare immediately you will depart as soon as you have packed."

"How long will we be there Master Fung?" Rai asked.

"Until you find the source of the imbalance" Master Fung answered. Rai nodded and went to his room to pack his stuff when he returned he was wearing his usual green jeans and grayish hoodie carrying his backpack and was moving his arms in a weird way though Kim thought she saw something concealed in his sleeves. Kim was wearing a knee length skirt and a t-shirt he hair was dyed brown and hung loose to the middle of her back. Clay wore his usual cowboy out fit and Omi his traditional xiaolin robes when Rai saw this he pointed at Omi and said.

"If you want to get the job done then we're gonna have to get you some new clothes" Omi looked confused.

"I have always been able to complete the job and I see why my clothes make a difference" Omi said.

Rai sighed "that's because until now all our jobs have been based on fighting in which case your right it doesn't make much of a difference. But this mission is to investigate in other words we have to blend in people wont talk to you if you stand out they" he pointed to Kim and Clay "look like tourists so they'll just blend in but you definitely stand out." Omi grudgingly agreed "also Omi stick with Clay or Kim don't go off on your own because -and this goes for all of you- if you get into a fight with the wrong people we will have zero chance of completing the mission."

"I do not understand Raimundo do you think that highly trained xiaolin warriors such as us could be beaten by mere street fighters?" Omi asked.

"If they are a certain gang then yes. Look I'll explain on the way so you guys just jump on" Rai said motioning to where Dojo was in his large form tapping his claws looking rather bored. The monks hopped on and Dojo took off to Rio as Rai began to speak again. "All right I'm only going to say this once so listen up take everything you think you know about Rio and Brazil in general and forget it. Rio was built by I guess you could call it a secret society who still control it to this day and they have begun to spread their influence to most of Brazil. Before I joined the temple I knew for a fact that at least have the people with any political or military power are either members of, being bribed by, or being black mailed by this secret society. In order to exercise control over the countries criminal population they formed a gang in Rio made up of kids who were taken in at an early age and trained to fight for the society."

"Umm Rai are you a conspiracy nut?" Kim asked jokingly.

"I can't believe I'm the one saying this but get serious Kim" Rai said. "You should be well aware of the gangs existence after what happened eight years ago. The gang calls themselves The Black Beasts and was divided into five sections each one controlled by a beast. This was until several years ago when one of the five led a coup against the others the entire city became a battle field and burned as a result."

"Hold on are you talking about the fire that damaged half the cities residential areas?" Kim asked and Rai nodded. "I thought that was an accident."

"In a way it was" Rai said "you see the Panther led a large force including the Eagle against the other four the fire was supposed to be a diversion but got out of hand when the control team was killed off by Wolf. It was a miscalculation on his part and it cost the lives of his friends the battle ended in defeat for the panther and he hasn't been seen since. However from the ashes rose a new more powerful gang."

Clay interrupted Rai "I thought you said there were five leaders?"

"I said there were five divisions" Rai said "each one led by a Black Beast they were Black Panther, Black Eagle, Black Shark, Black Bear, and Black Wolf each one with a unique martial art and weapon. These five tend to argue amongst themselves to the point where they get into fist fights over small matters. However their is a sixth who controls all the Black Beasts called the Black Dragon" Rai paused "from what I know this person could go toe-to-toe with and probably win against Chase Young in a one on one fight as long as it is only martial arts. Each of the Black Beasts that govern a territory has skills to match the average full fledged xiaolin dragon so they wont go down easy. If you start a fight with any member of the gang take the beating and walk away otherwise the remaining Beasts will come to fight you."

"What do you mean by remaining Beasts?" Kim asked.

Rai sighed "of the original six who were around during Panthers rebellion Panther disappeared Shark was killed by one of Panthers best friends. Wolf was killed in the fire but his sister took his spot and Eagle was killed her weapon reclaimed and probably given to a successor. Bear I don't know right now I'd say there is a 50/50 chance that he is also dead so there are only at most four who still remain with the gang."

"How do you know all this?" Kim asked.

"I was personally acquainted with Eagle until the rebellion" Rai said.

"What about Panther did you know him to?" Clay asked.

Rai looked away from them for a second then turned back and said "better than anyone because truth be told we were all around the same age. Right now the oldest of the Black Beasts is Dragon he is almost 60 years old because he hasn't yet trained a successor but the rest of them were all trained by the previous generation and took the position at the age of ten if not nine and are currently only around 18 Bear was the oldest and he would be 20."

"Umm Rai just what did you mean when you said I should know the gang?" Kim asked.

"The Black Panther or as he is called in Portuguese Preto Pantera prevented Tohomiko Industries from putting up a building in Rio because the society wanted to minimize potential outside influences not under their control." Kim remembered the name alright in fact her best friend Keiko's dad was one of the designers working on the building all the workers were put in the hospital after her papa refused to leave Rio. Kim personally couldn't forgive the Panther after what he did because Keiko's dad had lost the ability to use his left leg and his right had to be amputated because of an infection. In other words he couldn't walk anymore and it was the Panthers fault. "I know what you're thinking Kim" Rai said "but the truth is that the Panther went against orders when he did that."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" She asked.

"It is when his orders were to kill all the workers" Rai said "that was the event that made him begin planning his rebellion. You see the Black Beasts use a kind of brain washing which varies from person to person when they find people with a lot of potential. Some people they basically break down until there is nothing left and then they build them back up making them stronger than before. This makes the person feel indebted to them others come from families where they felt they weren't loved or didn't fit in and then they get taken in and after a few months a person can loose a large amount of their own will power."

Clay looked at Rai "sounds kind like science fiction there Rai."

Rai smiled a bit "there is no high tech equipment it is just simple psychology when you give someone who has nothing everything they will in turn feel the need to repay you. The Black Beasts can do whatever they want because of the support they get from the government and have many highly skilled psychologists who analyze a persons behavior to find what method is best for that specific person. Just think of them as a politically motivated cult who acts as the governments unofficial private army. If you start a fight with them it would be the same as declaring war and if it's at all possible I would like to avoid that scenario."

"If what you're saying is true then I reckon this is the biggest cover up of all time" Clay said after a moment.

"It looks beautiful doesn't it?" Rai asked the others looked where he was looking and saw a beautiful city by the ocean they had taken so long that the sun was rising over the buildings casting a magnificent crimson red light against the back. The beaches were covered with a beautiful white sand tainted to a red by the sun and even the ocean was a deep red like molten lava just like the fire years ago.

"I can see why you like it so much" Kim said.

Rai didn't respond for a moment he just took in a deep breath and exhaled then slowly said "yeah Rio de Janeiro I'm home" though Kim picked up a lot of regret in his voice she didn't bother to ask what was wrong. She would soon find just how much of a mistake that was.

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So how was it? And yes I know your all thinking WTF? What does a gang and a secret society have to do with Rai and what do they have to do with anything but that will be explained in the coming chapters. So read and review so that I can get some feed back and remember to be critical but also constructive if that makes any sense well I'm starting to ramble an have things to do so like I said read and review.


	3. Chapter Two: Home coming

A/N: first of all thanks migetninja for the review and I ask that everyone who reads to review whether you like the story or not that way I can use that to make this story and future stories better. So review damn it. Also this one is also mostly talking though there will be a near death experience for one of the monks near the end. Though again I encourage you to read it all as it will get you asking questions as to just what is up with Rio and more importantly Rai.

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Chapter 2 Home coming

Dojo touched down at the base of the statue of Jesus and Omis eyes widened "who is that?" He asked.

Rai looked at the statue and said "that Omi is Jesus Christ according to some religions he is the son of god who created the universe and that he came to earth thousands of years ago and was executed."

"He must have been a great warrior" Omi said.

Rai laughed "quite the contrary he was a man who wouldn't lift a finger to save himself if it meant harming someone and he preached to his followers to do the same. The ruling government -the Romans- were afraid of him because he did as his religion dictated, their fear was that he would turn his followers into an army. So he was arrested nailed to a cross with a crown of thorns upon his head and left to die." Omi stared at the statue with its arms wide as if to embrace the whole city "even though this happened in just one part of the world thousands of years ago it is one of the most widely known stories around the world and one of the widest religions as well. It truly is a cautionary tale about what happens when you kill someone who has captured the hearts of the people. Though people don't learn from these mistakes."

"How so Rai?" Clay asked.

Rai thought for a second "take William Wallace for example. Now he Omi was a great warrior. When the British conquered his people he slowly gathered together those who wanted to be free and led them into battle. He knew he couldn't defeat the British with power alone but he out smarted his opponents and won victory after victory through guerrilla warfare until the battle of Sterling Bridge where he did what people said was impossible. He faced the British heavy cavalry head on and won. Until that day no army had defeated the heavy cavalry on foot but William Wallace did it. After which he was knighted and made Guardian of Scotland he held the title until the Battle of Falkirk which he lost as a result of John III Comyn betraying him at the critical moment when they could have broken the British lines."

Omi looked at Rai as he stared out at the city "what happened to this great warrior?"

"William Wallace was betrayed by Jack Short and arrested by John de Menteith he was then set before an audience he was tortured and executed like all the others who were accused of treason. The British King even went so far as to put his preserved head on the London bridge to serve as a reminder to all those who dared to dream of being free of the British" Rai said.

Omi was speechless "I didn't know you were a history buff" Kim said surprised.

Rai smiled a bit then said "I told you before I am smarter than you know" there was an edge to his voice that subtly said 'end of discussion'. "Let's get going I don't want to remain in one place for any longer than necessary."

"Why does it have something to do with those gangsters?" Clay asked as Rai led them away from the statue though Rai stopped when after a few steps and took a deep breath.

"Let's just say I'm not exactly on the best terms with them after my the role I played in Panthers rebellion I betrayed the entire gang and barely got out alive" Rai said then realizing he had said to much just shut his mouth and started walking.

Omi was the first to recover from the implications of what Rai had just said "hold the dial you were a member of a group of villains?"

Rai stopped walking "it's like I said before Omi when you-" he paused "you wouldn't understand. When we get into the city then you may begin to understand why I joined them."

"You have to tell us why you joined them" Kim said defiantly. Rai just started walking away and Kim blocked his way.

Rai looked her in the eye "I don't think I can make you understand without showing you somethings first but more importantly we need to get Omi some clothes and we need a place to use as a headquarters. Getting clothes for Omi should be easy enough if we can find anything that can fit over his head as for the second I should be able to make some calls. The trouble is knowing who to trust or even who's still alive" at this point Rais voice dropped and he seemed to be talking to himself. "My friends may have decided to beg Dragon for forgiveness in which case they may have been pardoned in exchange for information on the others. If they refused then Dragon probably made them vanish in which case trying to contact them will get us killed" suddenly his eyes widened. "Francine she can help" he seemed to consider the option "then again she may try and kill me for what happened."

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Four people sat in a dark warehouse around a U shaped table one person was on each side with another sitting in a high backed chair at the end with a throne sitting at the open ends. The only thing they had in common was that each of the four people had a peculiar black helm on with tinted red glass where the eyes should be. On the left hand side of the high backed chair was the only female person wearing a wolf helm to the right of the high backed chair was a bear and seated in the high backed chair was an eagle. In the throne was a man wearing a Black Dragon helm his eyes flashed and he spoke in a voice that sounded like a whisper but held the authority of a god. "He has returned despite our warnings and I suspect he intends to fight us again. It is imperative that we stop him before he can interfere any further but we need the weapons back. Raimundo will lead you to the Panthers claw after he has done so he will no longer be useful. Dispose of him before he can put them on" the Black Dragon said.

This resulted in Eagle sitting up straighter in his seat "please sir send me to take care of this I have a score to settle with him."

Bear also sat straighter "I will be the one to wring that bastards neck for what he did to me" lifted his arm which was heavily scarred and missing a finger.

"Well I guess it's decided then we'll have to fight for it. So you two fight to the death and then I'll fight the winner" Wolf said receiving glares from the other two.

"Silence" Dragon said in his deadly silent voice. "We must not fight amongst ourselves now then Wolf because your grudge is no greater than any of us here you never trusted him to begin with we on the other hand were betrayed. This leaves me with two choices and it is clear which I should choose. Bear you suffered great physical injury when last you fought Raimundo however Eagle has a greater score to settle so Eagle will be the one to go. Besides Bear Raimundo and the rest of the gangs think you are dead I want to keep it that way for as long as possible."

"Thank you sir I wont let you down" Eagle said rising he bowed slightly and then turned and walked away. _I'm sure you won't_ Dragon thought to himself.

* * *

The group of monks had gotten Omi some baggie jeans a hoodie and a short sleeve t-shirt and were currently flying on Dojo out of town and possibly out of Brazil. "Um Rai where are we going?" Kim asked she was still a little preoccupied with some of the things she had seen and heard in town though Omi didn't know what was so bad about what was happening and Clay hadn't caught nearly as much as Kim had. The thing that had bothered Kim was how Rai seemed to notice everything that was happening and just kept on walking like it was nothing. _I get that we cant attract attention but to act that cold like it was just a normal day_ she thought then it dawned on her _maybe it was just another day in Rio or at least that part of Rio. Was it? Is it always like that? Is the whole city like that? Or it is just that one area?_

"To try and find an old friend" Rai said breaking Kims train of thought he turned to look at Kim and saw the questioning look on her face. Thinking she wanted more information on where they were headed he said "her name is Francine Delarossa she took part in Panthers rebellion after it failed the survivors all went their separate ways and are currently scattered across the world. However she was among the strongest of Panthers followers both in fighting skill and her belief in him. Last I knew she was still in South America waiting for Panther to come back and try to topple The Black Beasts once again." His voice dropped so quietly that the monks were sure they weren't meant to hear this part "but me I doubt he would be able to even pick up his weapon let alone us it." Rai paused for a minute before continuing at a normal volume "I have a few guesses as to where she will be." It was almost an hour of flying until they flew over a lake "we're here Lagoa Mandiore take us down pilot." Dojo grumbled something about not being appreciated but descended all the same. "Look sharp she has probably set traps to keep outsiders away."

"Why do we not search from the sky? Would it not be easier to find her?" Omi asked.

"Notice the trees?" Rai asked back "besides if she sees someone who she doesn't know she will go into hiding god knows where which is why it is important for her to see me approaching otherwise we might end up in a fight. Now let's get moving we're losing day light we should check down by the lake first then the forest and stick together if she sees one of you without me she will probably hide either that or she will attack." With that Raimundo started off to the lake.

Omi held the other two back and said in a low voice "Raimundo has been acting as if he were a different person ever since Master Fung spilled the cats that we would be coming to his home town."

"Omi it's 'spilled the beans' and 'has not been acting like himself' but yeah I reckon he has" Clay said.

Kim thought about it "well I mean he probably thinks we don't trust him after what he told us about being in a gang and all. Not only this but this is our first real mission with him as our shoku warrior he has to be a little nervous about doing well." She turned to look at where Rai had been standing to find that he had left. The group went looking for him down at the lake but what they found was not what they were expecting. They walked towards the lake. They were 20 meters away when they saw a black sharks fin in the water heading straight for a rock at a blinding speed about 50 feet from the rock the fin appeared to vanish it reappeared on the other side of the rock which shattered into pieces and even the water split. The shark stopped moving for a second until it began heading towards them "how far can sharks jump?" There was an explosion of water and what they saw only confused them further their was a girl wearing a leather vest of some kind with a black metal dorsal fin over a black bathing suit. She was also wearing a black helm in the shape of a sharks head with pieces of red glass for the eyes and had what looked like leather bands around each finger with black metal sharks teeth attached and she was about to strike Omi.


	4. Chapter Three: The Eagles Hate

Okay so this is the first fight of the story though really its more like half a fight the other half will be covered in the next chapter and review damn it if I don't get reviews then how am I supposed to know if people like this or not? Also I need you to tell me more than whether you like it or not I want you to tell me what you like about it and where I need to improve its the only way I'm going to get better.

Chapter 3: The Eagles hate

The girl was about to kill Omi using the black metal sharks teeth before Omi could even flinch her hand was less than an inch from his throat when another hand grabbed her wrist and used her own momentum to flip her. Omi turned his head and was about to thank his savior when he saw it was Rai.

"I told you guys to stick with me" Rai said. As the girl was still in the air she flipped and landed on her feet. "I didn't realize you were able to use the Sharks Skin Francine."

"Yeah well now we can get the rebellion back on schedule" she said "are they knew recruits?"

"No these are my fellow xiaolin dragons in training" Rai said. "I told you the rebellion is dead I doubt he can pick up the Panthers Claw let alone activate and use it." The girl walked forward and all the metal pieces retracted into the leather including the helm. She was white skinned with blond hair and eyes almost the same shade as Rais though hers were lighter.

"Well then why the hell did you come back?" She asked suddenly acting a lot colder.

"Oh I have never before seen such a wondrous device. How does it work?" Omi asked.

She smiled and said "it's complicated and I don't have time to explain."

She turned to walk away when Rai grabbed her wrist "please just hear what I have to say then decide whether or not to help us." Francine looked at Rai as though she were weighing her options then nodded her head.

"Knowing you this is going to be long so you should just follow me back to my place" she said and Rai let go of her wrist he smiled and she just pushed past.

"Man Rai what did you do to get her that mad?" Clay asked in a whisper

"Well this goes back to Panthers rebellion" Rai whispered back "I still think she is hoping for him to come back and lead another rebellion but it's impossible. After how many people got hurt last time he just can't take up that same fight. I don't think it's because he's to weak but he's afraid of what will happen. That speed of hers when she was in the water is only made possible by the shark skin she's wearing the panthers claw gives similar speed and increased strength to the user and it is extremely dangerous to use it in a fight where your own people are involved. If you were to use it in a fight one of your own people could accidentally step in the way and lose their life which is why if a rebellion were to be planned it would require more tactical skill than the Panther has."

Clay scratched his head "The answer to that in simple isn't it you would just have to fight alone or with people who can keep up with you" he said.

"What about the other Black Beasts? The gang has several thousand members and controls pretty much every other gang in town so your looking at two or three people against an army of thousands with three or four people leading them with the same power as they have. the probability of success is about 1%."

Despite the fact that they were whispering as quietly as they could Francine heard every word and said "there was a time when you would have been the first to agree if the odds were that good. They used to call you the 'miracle maker' 'the man who could make the impossible possible' some people went so far as to even start calling you 'Dragons slayer'. So what happened to you Rai? Why the change?"

"I grew up Francine" Rai said "we were living in a dream world thinking we could take on four of the Black Beasts with only two."

"Are you kidding look at what we accomplished" Francine almost shouted stopping and whipping around to face him.

Rai stopped where he was his hands shaking "I did look" he said and this time all that was in his voice was sadness and pain "I watched as the fire **we** started spread through the town. I heard the mothers crying for their lost children, I saw the looks on the faces of the people who were burned to a crisp, I heard the screaming of those who were burned alive." The monks listened in shock at Rais words "I know better than you what we accomplished and what we accomplished was nothing but death. If we had just kept bowing our heads and did as we were told then all those people never would have died."

"So is that why you decided to be a monk?" Francine asked as she began to walk again and Rai followed "to make up for the mistakes you made back then? If that's true then I think you should know no one regrets what happened not even Alejandra." Rai tensed for a fraction of a second at the name. "It's true none of us hate you for giving us hope the reason we hate you is for taking it away." They approached a wooden cottage and Francine said "this is my place" she led them to the door and pushed it open though Dojo swore he saw the door glow a little when she touched it. He wrote it off as exhaustion. From the outside the cottage looked run down and unlivable but once they walked in and saw the inside they saw that it was actually pretty nice. There was a couch, a stove, and three doors leading to different areas one leading to what appeared to be a hallway with exits to what looked like quest bedrooms the other to a hallway that led to a bathroom and what appeared to be Francine's bedroom. The only thing odd was the third door which was in the floor and had both a dead bolt and a pad lock while none of the others had a lock of any kind.

_That is strange_ Omi said his tiger instincts told him there was another person below the floor "where does that door lead?" he asked pointing at the door in the floor.

"Oh that's nothing just storage mostly" she said "let's get down to business" she looked out the window to see if anyone was watching them she was sure she saw a glint of red but wrote it off as paranoia when it suddenly disappeared.

Eagle returned his helm to it's concealed state removing the one thing that would give him away the red glint from his eyes. After Rai and Francine had been talking for a while (though the monks were in another room) Rai came out and said "we got a place to stay." Rai explained that in a way they were renting the space and that he was going to take care of the payment but for that he needed to head into Rio alone.

Rai left the cabin and took off using his powers as a dragon of wind to fly through the sky at a break neck speed. A couple hours later Rai landed in a warehouse district that was burned during the rebellion when the fire went out of control. The sun was setting and Rai Suddenly his tiger instincts told him to duck as he did a foot passed right where his head had been. He looked at his attacker and started cursing in his head but outwardly he was calm as a cucumber and said "I didn't expect the Black Beasts to find a user for the Eagles Wings so soon."

"How about we skip to the part where I kill you" Eagle said and lunged forward throwing a punch at Rais stomach Rai dodged by jumping over Eagle. Rai landed on his hands behind eagle at started to spin and kicked Eagle in the ribs sending him rolling along the ground about five feet before he shoved himself into the air and landed on his feet. "Still as good as ever" Eagle muttered before raising his hand and fired a green beam at Rai which he dodged by sidestepping.

"You really must be a prodigal if you can do something like that after only eight years of training" Rai said "so is that why your after me? You want the Panthers Claws and you think I can lead you to them?"

"No" Eagle said "I am here because Dragon wants the Panthers Claws that much is true. However I don't give a damn about the Claws what I want is to kill you" as he said those words his eyes began to glow a deep blood red. "We all trusted in you but you-" he suddenly stopped talking took a deep breath "I see you for what you are now. I can see that you are nothing more than a betrayer. You betray the Black Beasts, Panthers Army, the Xiaolin, the Heylin everyone who trusts you. You give people hope then you take it away and leave them broken and bleeding. You are a monster and I will be the one to slay you" with that Eagle activated the Eagles Wings and true to it's name a pair of metal wings grew from leather sleeves on his arms and talons grew from the pieces of leather on his feet.

"So which side were you on during the rebellion?" Rai asked taking a stance.

"Yours and then you betrayed us" Eagle said "while the others may not know I do I know you killed my predecessor Panthers second in command for no reason. She was your closest friend and you killed her. I don't care what your reason was she was someone I couldn't afford to lose and you killed her."

Rai stared at the man as he spoke and the last words he spoke made him see who his enemy was "Alejandro I didn't kill her what would make you think that I would?" Rai said dropping his stance. Eagle didn't answer Rai but instead attacked the defenseless Rai though Rai dodged every attack that Eagle launched "just hear me out" Rai said Eagle jumped into the sky and spread his wings. Rai summoned a wind barrier just as Eagle began flapping his wings sending a shower of metal feathers down on Rai. Each time one of the feathers hit the ground it cut almost three inches into the stone though Rai managed to deflect most of them he got hit by two. The first grazed his leg and wasn't much of a big deal but the second one tore through his right shoulder cutting the tendons, muscles and nerves so Rai couldn't use his right arm at all.

_Damn it_ Rai thought _at this rate I'm dead_. Back at the cabin Francine knew something wasn't right "hey monks you got a way to get to Rai fast?"

"Indeed we do" Omi said "but why was he not going into town to pick up payment?"

"That's the problem" Francine said "if that dumb ass hasn't called me yet to tell me he's got the package then somethings wrong and we need to get down there. I don't expect you guys to understand your amateurs at this but I'm a pro so just trust my instinct and lets go."

The monks all shared a look and then proceeded to get Dojo to super size and they took off towards Rio Francine was afraid that they would make it in time (mostly because Dojo was slow).


	5. Chapter Four: Panther Returns

I want to thank djlayla95 for her review and would like to request more reviews seriously people if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or even if you just want to give some constructive criticism then give me a review. Also the more reviews I receive the more motivated I will be to get out the chapter I also accept anonymous reviews just so you know.

Chapter Four: Panther Returns

Rai had been seriously injured in Eagles last attack he had a small laceration on his leg which wasn't a problem but the nerves, tendons and muscles in his right shoulder had been cut meaning he could no longer move his right arm. This would have been a much bigger problem if Rai had not been skilled in capoeira a Brazilian martial art which focuses on kicks not punches. Though not being able to use his right arm meant that he couldn't use the style he created himself by blending the capoeira and xiaolin styles. "What's wrong Rai" Eagle said tauntingly "have you gotten that weak? You're pathetic you used to be so great and mighty that you burned this town and killed thousands because you wanted to take Dragons place despite the fact that he had already named you as his successor. You were impatient and you were selfish and now you want to try again but I wont let you."

"You're wrong I-" Whatever Rai was about to say was lost in the sonic boom Eagle created as he rocketed forward so fast he broke the sound barrier. _He's not as fast as the previous Eagle so I have that working for me_ Rai thought smiling a little the wound to his arm wound normally be a huge problem for most fighters but Rai was skilled in the Brazilian martial art of capoeira which relies more on kicks than punches. Though his arm did prevent him from using the style he had created by combining the capoeira and xiaolin styles but that was only a minor set back. Eagle let loose another barrage of feather arrows as Rai flipped back on his good arm and began to spin kicking the feathers at the same time he began to create a small hurricane. He condensed the hurricane around his right leg pushed off from the ground landed on his left foot and aimed a kick at Eagle sending the hurricane flying at him. Eagle attempted to dodge the attack by flying upwards and for the most part he succeeded however his right leg was caught in the hurricane and twisted around making a sickening snapping sound as it did.

Eagle continued to hover in mid air as he placed both hands on his broken leg his hands began to glow green but he was interrupted by a burst of fire from a green dragon forcing him to fall back another 20 feet as the dragon made a circle around Rai. Eagle watched as four people climbed off one he recognized as the girl who had defeated shark. "Rai what the hell are you doing starting a fight with Eagle before retrieving the claws for?" Francine asked before she noticed his arm hanging loosely by his side "why don't you heal yourself?"

"You know I cant do that Francine" Rai said as he moved forward to face Eagle. "Listen Alejandro I don't know what lies Dragon told you but he is the one who killed your sister not me. If 11 years of friendship mean anything to you then please hear me out."

Francine froze "hold on a second" she said "that's Alejandro?"

"Mind filling us in there partner?" Clay asked.

"Alejandro is one of my oldest and closest friends he was also the younger twin brother of my girl friend Alejandra who was killed by Dragon during Panthers rebellion." Rai said "though for some reason he thinks I killed her."

"There has to be some way to make him see that it wasn't you that killed her" Kim said.

Rai sighed then said "other than talking with him and convincing him otherwise no there isn't and I can tell you that Dragon isn't one who you can find a hole in his words easily. He has probably fabricated videos and other evidence that I cant disprove without getting my hands on them which means it is my word against Dragons and the false evidence."

Francine placed a hand on Rais shoulder and said "there is one way if-"

"No!" Rai almost shouted cutting her off she flinched and took her hand off Rais shoulder "there is no other way available to us." It was almost unnoticeable but Kim was sure that Rais bleeding had slowed and there was no blood on Francine's hand despite the fact that she had placed it on Rais injured shoulder.

"Okay what is this other method you can use?" Kim asked Francine though she looked down embarrassed.

"Well actually I cant do it" she said "but Rai can... At least he used to."

Kim had opened her mouth to speak when she and the others noticed a black sphere of energy gathering in the palm of Eagles hand. The monks jaws dropped at the all to familiar sight of the heylin blast favored by Chase Young. Rai and Francine much to everyone's further surprise did not seem surprised by this though Rai did seem worried and rightly so in Kims opinion but the reason she thought he was worried was not the reason he was worried. "How about we show them the truth of what you are Raimundo?" Eagle called down and the sphere in his hand began to grow in size until it was about two feet in diameter and then threw it as it continued to grow. "There is only one way to stop it Raimundo and you know it."

Raimundo looked around at his friends knowing that they were too shocked to be able to dodge so he raised a hand and said "you win Eagle if you want to face me as I was when last we met fine. Heylin glass barrier" a barrier that appeared to be made of a black tinted glass appeared and blocked Eagles attack. "Shattered glass attack" Rai said and the barrier seemed to break apart into hundreds of tiny pieces and flew at Eagle who dived to the ground. Eagle kicked off from the ground lunging towards Rai using the wings to try and take off Rais head when Francine blocked with the Sharks skin then put Eagle under a heylin constrictive spell. Black glowing chains broke through the ground and wrapped around Eagle from head to toe so that he couldn't move a finger.

"Hey Rai think its time for you to level the playing field?" Francine asked.

Rai froze "I guess I have no choice" Rai said "I guess one more time wont hurt but let me make this clear Francine this does not mean I'm going to retake my place alright?"

"Sure what ever just go get your weapon I cant hold him much longer" Francine said.

Rai ran over to a small patch of cement that looked different reached his hand through and pulled out a box. When Rai opened the box the monks saw the familiar leather pieces that signaled a Black Beasts weapon. After fitting the leather pieces over his shoes and neck he pulled the gloves on and his eyes changed color to match Francine's eyes then a Panther shaped mask covered his head and five foot claws grew from the leather.

Alejandro broke free from the spell Francine had placed on him like it was nothing sending fragments of the chains flying everywhere as they disappeared. "Francine you should really work on drawing energy from your weapon to aid your spells" then he turned to Rai.

There was a gleam in the eyes of the Panthers mask the eyes glowed a dull shade of crimson that seemed to radiate sadness and pain. Rai extended a hand as though in friendship then asked "shall we journey into hell together my old friend?"

Rai's words in Eagles head each time getting more condescending and offensive until Eagle spread his arms wide as if to embrace Rai then his eyes glowed a bright blood red that screamed of anger, hatred but most prominent was the lust for Raimundo's blood. "I have the advantage Rai or did you forget? As you once said he who rules the sky rules Rio."

With that Eagle took off into the sky breaking the sound barrier "I never told you did I?" Rai asked "why I was chosen to be the Panther and not your sister though she was better at martial arts and general spell work." He paused "the reason is because I am the dragon of wind" he said as he jumped into the sky and solidified the air beneath him "and as long as I have something solid to stand on I can move just as fast as your sister." With that Rai kicked off from his platform and seemed to disappear. The monks and Dojo thought it was a trick until he reappeared in under a millisecond almost 70 meters away from where he started and three sonic booms went off meaning that the sound barrier had been broken three times in under a millisecond then he disappeared again. Suddenly Rai reappeared after a second accompanied by the sound of almost a dozen sonic booms and snapped his fingers and Eagles wings and mask shattered into pieces and four slash marks appeared on Eagle with blood spraying from the wounds. The monks noticed the blood on Rais blades just before he retracted them. Rai moved at blinding speed to catch Alejandro before he hit the ground. "I also told you there's no way an eagle could beat a dragon in the sky" Rai said mournfully as he set Alejandro down and placed a hand on his friends wounds as he coughed.

Alejandro smiled sadly and whispered quietly "I never thought I would die by your hands as well."

Rai's eyes reflected Alejandro's they were both filled with pain and sadness as he whispered back just as quietly "I never wanted to stain my hands with your blood old friend just as I never fought your sister outside the sparring ring, well not with the Panthers Claw at least. I wasn't the one who killed her" the monks could only hear a few words because they were keeping their distance. "I was fighting Wolf and Bear at the time I arrived just before Dragon killed your sister and I tried to save her. I was just to weak. I watched the person closest to me die and that was when I realized I don't have the power to save anyone. That was why I left" Rai continued to whisper then Alejandro passed out as Raimundo's hands glowed black and Alejandro's wounds started to heal themselves.

When Alejandro awoke he was in a forest next to a stream that was when he noticed he was no longer wearing the Eagle's Wings he sat up and looked around for them. He stopped and took a fighting stance when he saw Rai sitting with his back against a tree. "Why did you heal me?" Alejandro asked.

Rai looked him in the eye and tossed the Eagle's Wings in front of Alejandro "I want you to open your eyes to the truth. You and your sister always followed me no matter what path I walked and even after you both could no longer see me because I was to far along on the path and I came to a fork in the road. I made my choice before you and your sister caught up with me. Eventually your sister reached the cross roads and picked the same path that I did but now it is your turn to choose my old friend. Will you stay along the path and walk along side Dragon despite the hell he has steered us toward or will you walk the same path I once walked. The answer is up to you" Rai said as he walked away disappearing into thin air. Raimundo's voice spoke from all directions echoing off the trees and rocks "if you choose the path opposite mine then do me a favor and tell Dragon that the Panther has returned to finish what was started a long time ago."

Eagle sat down and picked up the Eagle's Wings he looked at them then where Rai had stood "what should I do sister? Rai was our oldest friend and I remember what I felt when he led us into the light from the darkness of despair Dragon had plunged us into. But he killed you didn't he? Even if he didn't he still cast me back into despair when he disappeared" Eagle fell to his knees and tears began to flow "I have seen the evidence against Rai. There can be no rational doubt about his guilt but my heart still tells me that he is innocent. I'll think about that later first I need to find my way out of here maybe if I stay put..." That was when a conversation he once had with Rai came to mind.

Flash back

Rai stood looking out at the city of Rio watching the sun set. It was beautiful in the downtown areas at sunset watching the windows reflect the sun off one the windows of the high rises and sky scrapers. He heard foot steps behind him and a voice spoke "Rai are you sure about this? I mean if we think about it rationally then there's no way we can even hope to defeat the Black Beasts." Alejandro said his voice filled with despair.

Rai took a moment to compose a reply "rationally your right" he said "but since when has anyone decided not to do something simply because it was irrational? It was irrational for you and your sister to become my friends and yet you did. I want to be able to say on my death bed 'I have no regrets'" Rai said and turned his head to Alejandro then asked "how about you?"

Alejandro looked down "I want that to but... But a life of servitude is worth it if we all get to live isn't it?"

Rai smiled sadly "can you really call that a life? Maybe it is maybe it isn't. In truth I don't know. I'm as lost as you are the only difference is you want to stay in one place and wait for someone to lead you out. But that wont happen. I cant show you the way out of the forest of despair. Though I may walk further into the darkness I will keep walking because even when you think there is no hope left if you take a good look around you then you'll see it a light in the darkness. Sometimes it just takes a while for you to find it but promise me something no matter what happens never stop looking for the light. Even if you are the only one from the rebellion left standing promise me you will never stop searching for the light."

Present

"That's right" Alejandro said "I promised to never stop looking for the light" Alejandro stood up and looked around him until he saw a light in the trees and walked that way.

* * *

Rai emerged from the forest and entered the cabin "how did it go?" Francine asked.

"Pretty good" Rai said "now it's his turn to answer the question."

Kim spoke up "what do you mean?"

"When I started my rebellion I asked Alejandra, Alejandro, Francine, Kyle and all my other generals 'are you going to live on your knees or die on your feet?'" Rai said.

"Everyone of us gave the same answer we all said we would die on our feet" Francine said "Alejandro never really cared about the rebellion or the Black Beasts he was just there because his sister was the only family he had so he didn't really answer."

"But now I need to know because I'm guessing by now that you three" he said indicating the monks "have figured out the truth or at least parts of it."

The monks exchanged a look before Omi said "could you please give us a hint?"

"Hold on does this mean your coming back?" Francine asked.

Rai sighed then said "yeah" his voice had lost all happiness and energy now it sounded like the worn out voice of a soldier looking over a battle scarred field after a long day of fighting "the Panther has returned to Rio to slay a dragon."


End file.
